Pentecost: Seasonal for some, daily for others

Updated 12:07 am, Saturday, June 7, 2014

Tomorrow is a special day for me: Pentecost. Also, tomorrow I will be ordained as a minister in the United Church of Christ.

I hoped and prayed for an ordination on Pentecost, which falls on June 8 this year, because anyone who knows me knows that I'm not just any UCC-er. I am a self-proclaimed Pentecostal UCC-er.

I was born and raised in the Assemblies of God branch of Pentecostalism, but I left this denomination sometime in my teens and discovered the UCC later on.

Even though I don't worship in a Pentecostal church anymore, I still claim this rich history and tradition as my own. So it just seems right to be ordained on Pentecost.

Pentecost, from the Greek word meaning "50," falls 50 days (seven weeks) after Easter. It is the celebration of the Holy Spirit coming "like tongues of fire" on the disciples as they were gathered in Jerusalem for the Jewish harvest festival of Pentecost, or Shavuot.

To many Christians, the Holy Spirit is the spiritual manifestation of God that lives within and among us.

Ironically, Pentecostals do not celebrate Pentecost as a Holy Day or liturgical season. Pentecostals celebrate Pentecost every Sunday. In fact, every day is considered an opportunity to encounter the Spirit.

I was taught from a young age that all the miracles in the Bible could still be done today because of the Spirit. It was exhilarating as a young child to think that God through the Holy Spirit was still working, and I could have my very own little Pentecost through the power of prayer. As I got older I realized that not everyone thought this way.

Being a Pentecostal has never been easy. Growing up in southern California, close to the place Pentecostalism began (the Azusa Revivals near Los Angeles), being a charismatic wasn't too unusual.

What I quickly realized when I moved to the East Coast for college was that not only is Pentecostalism gravely misunderstood by most people, especially Christians, but it also gets grouped with other traditions that look similar but are not the same.

Being Pentecostal is not the same as being Evangelical, for example. This was confusing when I was seeking a worship community.

I would visit a church where praise music and preaching was familiar, and I might notice a few Biblical traditions I understood, but I would always get a little bit of a rude awakening when I "outed" myself as a Pentecostal.

I remember vividly during my college years being cornered by a worship leader seconds before I was about to speak to a group of Christians. I had been asked to talk about an important aspect of my faith tradition. I had chosen to talk about spiritual gifts.

As he realized I would be speaking from a Pentecostal point of view, he began to hurl questions at me. "What exactly are you going to talk about? You need to tell me everything you're going to say."

I was dumbfounded -- my very character as a Christian questioned by someone who already knew me! Suddenly, who I was as an individual didn't matter; what mattered were his stereotypes.

Many Pentecostal stereotypes, I began to understand, involve people flailing on the ground or being knocked over by a loud preacher's healing hands. There are videos and documentaries of Pentecostals speaking in tongues.

Historically, Pentecostals have been portrayed as uneducated or illiterate, emotionally driven, and sometimes emotionally unstable.

So why would I still claim this as a part of my identity? Why would I choose to get ordained on Pentecost?

The day I was challenged by that pastor in college was a huge moment for me. I not only felt his prejudice, but I also felt a deeper connection with my faith.

I began to appreciate the faith of my childhood -- especially the reason why Pentecostals don't celebrate Pentecost. If the Holy Spirit is already here, working and moving among us, we are empowered to do God's work in the world.

Pentecostals do believe that the spirit allows people to speak in other languages and heal the sick, but they also believe that the Spirit gives out other gifts, such as teaching, leadership, kindness and compassion.

Ultimately for me, the Spirit gives me the courage I need to stand up for love and justice, to seek peace and friendship -- and isn't that what being an ordained minister is all about?